This was so unique in how it was written and the idea itself. It definitely took a few minutes to get used to the style that it was written in but once I did I really couldn’t stop. The past two nights I’ve almost dropped my kindle on the floor because I fell asleep when I finally couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. I can’t wait to read more by this author.

I really love the concept of this book, the podcast style format worked really well for me as I loved the tone it set and the back and forth between storylines made it hard to put down. I also really enjoyed the subject matter as well, it really appealed to the influencer loving millennial that I am.

The things that didn’t work for me were the romance, it felt very instalove and wasn’t all that believable, meaning it felt more like a plot point. I also felt like the pacing was off, the first half of the book sets such a great tone, however the main island action was incredibly short, I would’ve loved to have seen that expanded more, or less of a build up to match the rest of the book.

Overall though I really enjoyed this book, I got through it in a couple of days so despite my grievances I obviously had a fun time reading it and I will definitely be checking out the next one. I would give this 3.5 stars but netgalley doesn’t allow for that sadly.

I was attracted to this book because of its note about the format. Having read countless of mystery & thrillers, including domestic thrillers, I was really intrigued by this. In terms of the background story, it is described as "fyre festial meets hunger games" which made it even more intriguing.

The book isn't terrible but it's only 145 pages! perhaps the format (podcast transcript) doesn't allow for more but I feel like it could've been meatier. For example, add some narrative between the dialogues to add dimension to the characters and set the scene with descriptions of places.

I feel terrible for saying this but I feel it was obvious some of the characters were inspired by actual influencers / instagram models that we all know. To me this was a bit too transparent and whilst it's OK to draw inspiration from real people and events, I wish the author had been a bit more imaginative.

You may notice that my review doesn't mention anything about the plot... honestly, there isn't much of a plot. It's all a bit shock scene after shock scene... the "mystery" didn't really add much to the story. Comparing the format to World War Z and Daisy Jones & The Six is quite a claim. I really don't think this book compares to either. I understand the book needs to be marketed but this anticipation really is doing a disservice to this book. This novel is what is is, and I enjoyed it for what it was - a 145 page podcast transcript.

Reviewing this book feels like correcting an essay to me: the idea is great, the format is innovative, the story had me on the edge of my seat but the execution was lacking.

Fyre Festival meets The Hunger Games is the perfect description of this unique book, and I loved how it was formatted like a podcast. Multiple sides to the story unravelled beside each other, and this author has found a new fan in me

This would be a great summer read. Fast paced. Formatted into short chapters and audio descriptions. I think this would make an even better audio book.

Kyle Rutkin has a new fan.
I absolutely adored Influencer Island. The premise and cover are what drew me in but the mystery within caught me hook, line and sinker.

The book is the perfect length for the events, there's not a wasted page. It's camp-y and gory but also has a good bit more going on if you sit with it for a while. I would have loved more time with the other influencers besides Carrie, Kiana and Bella but maybe the few glimpses are best.
I could see this becoming an amazing horror-mystery mini-series, I'd certainly tune in.

Thank you to Netgalley for my arc copy of Influencer Island. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was everything it promised to be and yes, fyre festival meets hunger games is the perfect description. I loved the characters and it really keeps you glued to the pages. I can't explain how good this book is and as a millennial, this isn't that far fetched really. I'll leave all the questions it raises about our current lifestyles and social media, aside for now but it does really get you thinking. Its got a good pace and doesn't have chapters just full of waffle, there's always something happening and moving the plot along. It's written in a podcast format which was also a 1st for me but as someone obsessed with true crime on podcasts and YouTube I felt it actually worked well. Although you are reading thr book through various characters interviews and recollection, it still makes you feel like you are there watching and listening along irl. Really well written, relevant and captivating. A perfect modern thriller...... it is about time we move away from the same old locked room thriller anyways and this is exactly how you do it! Highly recommended

FYRE FESTIVAL meets HUNGER GAMES in this dark psychological thriller about a social media competition that turns deadly.

This book was not at all like I expected! I loved the way it was written and the format, it was much easier to follow along and understand with format of a podcast.

I loved the different perspectives and the input really gave you the detail that was needed.

I did not expect it to take the turns it did, every twist I was physically gasping and in disbelief.

This is the perfect book for you if you love reality tv/influencing but also love a dark mystery.

I rated this 4 stars!!

The premise of this book really intrigued me but the book sadly just didn’t live up. It seemed to lack a lot of substance. This would have probably worked better if it was an audiobook or set up as a fictional podcast

Influencer Island by Kyle Rutkin is a book told in interviews regarding a deadly contest on a remote island where the more fame you have, the better your odds are. When a reclusive artist decides to make the greatest art installation the world has seen by bringing a group of influencers to an island and live-streaming their experience, millions of people send in videos with the dream of being picked. What ends up happening is a deadly game no one could have prepared for

The author says in the author note that this book was influenced by the infamous Fyre Festival and I feel like being familiar with that event will really help your enjoyment of this book. This book being told in interview format will be very hit or miss with some readers. While I did enjoy this book for the most part, I do think that it suffers from the same thing written transcripts of podcasts suffer from-you don’t feel as much of a connection with the characters because of the writing style. You only get to know about what the characters are saying they feel as opposed to being in their heads and going through everything with them.

The interviews also jump between characters that aren’t together so if you aren’t paying close attention, you will easily get confused. Sometimes it will bounce around between several characters that are all doing different things in different locations within a few pages and you just have to keep everything straight.

I do think that the discussion of internet fame and the lengths in which people will go to become famous is really good in this book. The artist who is bringing everyone to the island reminded me a lot of Banksey but more on the wild side. Wyatt James is known for painting celebrities but the paintings become more and more morbid over his career thus garnering a lot of attention to the message behind the art. There were several lines in this book that felt like very relevant social commentary.

I think this book would make an amazing audiobook as far as the experience goes. Much like Daisy Jones and the Six, some books are just better and more immersive via audio. This book also has the same feel of the Fyre Festival in which each chapter has reveals that seem more crazy than the last. I would recommend this to anyone who is just looking for something kind of crazy to read.

This is an excellent take on society today and its obsession with pretty strangers on the internet. It's written in podcast form, and as someone who doesn't listen to podcasts, I don't know if that's the reason the narrative was so jumpy or not. There would be multiple POVS per page and it kind of made my brain hurt. I also wish I could have read more about the island as opposed to a lot of the things that took place before the island. Regardless, this is a good mystery with some surprise twists.

I think this would have worked better as a podcast.
Whilst the premise is amazing and the story is intriguing, I think the execution could have been better. The characters' relationships sometimes felt flat and, most of the time, I wasn't actively rooting for anyone. There are a few noticeable discrepancies in the grammar, but given it's an ARC I understand why.
Overall, the premise was great, but something was lacking.

I really loved the premise of this book, and it had real potential. Unfortunately, I didn't connect with the style of story-telling, which was presented as a podcast transcript. It felt like the narrative was very surface-level and lacked the atmosphere that could have been generated given the setting and characters involved.
I liked some of the twists and turns throughout the story, and it certainly shed a light on the celebrity culture we're currently experiencing. However, much like the influencers this book was depicting, I felt it was missing depth and made it hard for me to really care about any of them.

This was wild. As the synopsis says, it's basically FYRE FESTIVAL meets HUNGER GAMES written in podcast/interview style.

If you're the kind of reader who doesn't care if there is not a lot of focus on the characters but mostly just on the plot and likes dark cult/conspiracy type of vibes, you might want to give this a chance!

My personal reading experience with this one was that it had a lot of potential and was entertaining and quick to read, but wasn't quite what I wanted. I wish the characters were more fleshed out. All their voices were similar and I didn't feel attached to any of them. All the crazy stuff could've had me gasping but I didn't care about the characters so it felt like things happened very quickly and everything felt quite distant.

Really enjoyed this book. It's sharp and funny and a really dark but poignant look at the role of social media in society. It's written as a podcast transcript which took a while to get used to and maybe not one for you if you like streams of descriptive prose. Also quite gory in places but this is a plus for me. Has a Love Island meets Black Mirror vibe going on.

Unique and very topical, this book takes the “what if” question over the edge. How far are people prepared to go for social media fame? Told in an incredibly creative way, the writing style makes this all too believable. Dark, credible and troubling, this is a must read for people who like tension and thrills!

I didn’t know too much about influencer island before I requested it just that it sounded like an interesting thriller. Well it did not disappoint! I love everything about the dark side of social media and it’s impact on morality.

Influencer Island written in the style of podcasts interview transcripts (I loved this!) and it’s after the fall out of a quite grizzly string of murders- but who is guilty? World famous yet secret artist Wyatt James invites contestants to join him and a group of influencers on an idyllic island- it soon becomes obvious that it’s more than a battle of social media wits and more like a battle to the death.

I was completely enthralled with this book and finished it within 4 hours, I literally couldn’t put it down. Although it had elements of hunger games and squid games it’s format made it unique.

It’s also made me chuckle that I’m writing this review to promote on social media about a book where your life depends on social media- oh the irony

Please read of your a fan of squid games, Hunger games, podcasts or gruesome thrillers

Thank you @netgallery and publishers for a digital copy of Influencer Island to read and review

Oh man! The premise sounded so good, and I love interview style stories, this one seemed right up my alley. Unfortunately I found it quite slow paced, with a number of drawn out mysteries. If it was just focussed on what happened on the island, it would have been better in my opinion. The characters felt flat, like they were all reading from a script, so maybe the interview style isn’t the best option for this kind of story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kyle Rutkin, and Greater Path for a copy.

A bunch of influencers fight to the death, all for the sake of fame and millions of followers on social media. I was rooting for the protagonist, Carrie, from the start and despite the podcast and found footage style of storytelling, I enjoyed all the murrrrderrrrr and justifications behind them.

Does it make me want to have thousands of followers doting on my every word and action? Hard pass.

I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC and for allowing me to read this in advance. :)

Actual rating: 3.5/5

There's something very entertaining about reading a book about influencers fighting to the death... Guess I'm no different than the millions of people who tuned in for the competition on Gl!tch. lol

I would've liked to experience things from the POV of the characters as things happened but I understand that the amount of exposition given works better in a podcast format. Alternating between backstories, mystery solving and murderous fun at the island can be a bit chaotic but it also means the story is never dragging too much or there's too much action happening out of nowhere.

SPOILERS DOWN HERE

I didn't like much that like 3 of the girls were obsessed with Tuck. I wish there was something better connecting these girls than some dude. Cal falling in love with Carrie was unnecessary and from my point of view didn't seem to serve a real purpose in the story. I wish Wyatt's identity had been hinted at more often earlier in the book - Cal hits a wall in his investigations to uncover Wyatt's real identity and he kinda forgets about it after. So when it was finally revealed I was like "oh yea we were trying to find out who Wyatt was, weren't we?"

Despite these complaints, I would still recommend this book to anyone who loves thrillers, murderous island fun, and quick & entertaining reads.